A compendium of buildability issues from the viewpoints of construction practitioners

In response to the recent report of the Construction Industry Review Committee for improving buildability in Hong Kong, a research project has been commissioned to develop a buildable design appraisal system for use in the city. First, a literature review has been carried out on the major development of buildability and constructability in different countries, including Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom the United States. A series of interviews with experienced industry practitioners in Hong Kong (including expatriates) aiming at exploring the present state-of-the-art on the subject has been conducted. The insights have provided solid groundwork for future buildability studies due to their practicality. Despite the sample size being small, the public and private sector interviewees were differentiated by their design-outcome oriented and design-process oriented perspectives. Buildability problems emerged because of the lack of clear project briefing and insufficient considerations of buildability at the design stage. Mitigation measures at the design stage include co-ordinating the delivery process, revisiting works done, training on site production techniques and cross-discipline communication, etc. From the procurement perspectives, Partnering in Design & Build would serve in a better way in alleviating buildability problems.